Oh the Sprouse twins. They are the most legendary Disney Channel duo of our time, one may say. While the young actors got their start as Zack and Cody, their Suite Life days are far behind them. Cole, for one, has made a new name for himself as Jughead in the hit series Riverdale (which, er, we’re a little too obsessed with) – while his bro Dylan is following his dreams of pursuing a more independent, underground acting career. If one thing is for sure, both Dylan and Cole have come a seriously long way – all while working to graduate from NYU, no less.

Now, in a new interview, Dylan expressed his frustration with the way others address he and his brother as a “former child star” – because honestly, that just makes them sound washed up, and they’re the opposite of that. They’re just getting started, people!

“That term is so derogatory. Isn’t it always derogatory? Even ‘young actor’ sounds better,” Dylan explained. “You’re already in a box. But they put you in a smaller box inside that box. It also implies past tense. It implies you’ve already failed, right? I was actually naïve enough to think that people wouldn’t think of it in that way.”

Dylan also opened up about the struggle to “unlearn” certain tendencies he developed as a result of living his early years in the spotlight. While Dylan considers the core of his personality to be the fact that he’s a “people person,” he was also trained, as a young actor, to be in constant entertainment mode. And tbh, there’s nothing wrong with an occasional silence in a conversation.

“I had to unlearn a lot of things that I had learned going to school. I used to be very scared of silence because I felt it was my responsibility to keep people occupied,” Dylan said.

(Photo credit: Getty)

“That definitely spawns from an insecurity in myself. When people aren’t enjoying themselves, when I’m involved, it somehow comes back to it being my fault. But I do want people to have a good time,” he continued.

Well, it’s safe to say he won’t have a problem keeping people’s spirits up when he opens his new Brooklyn-based business. Looks like there’s a lot in store.